Durham Castle

Constructed next to Durham Cathedral, Durham Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In defensive terms, Durham Castle was of strategic importance both to defend the troublesome border with Scotland and to control local English rebellions, which were common in the years immediately following the Norman Conquest, and led to the so-called Harrying of the North by William the Conqueror in 1069.

The Historia Regum, a literary work about the history of the English kings written in 1136, mentions that the Castle was constructed “to keep the bishop and his household safe from the attacks of assailants”. This makes sense – Robert de Comines (or Cumin), the first earl of Northumberland appointed by William the Conqueror, was brutally murdered along with his entourage in 1069.  

Durham Castle has enjoyed a long history of continuous use, and since 1837 has been home to students of University College, Durham. Approximately 150 students at University College occupy the keep and the rooms along the Norman Gallery, while in the Great Hall, meals are served to around 300 people three times a day – mainly to student members of the college in their first or final years.